While the Czech Republic has made an enormous investment in tourism in
recent years, the injection of funds has failed to yield positive results,
according to a new report.

Photo: Patrycja Cieszkowska, Free Images
Between 2007 and 2013, the Ministry of Regional Development poured at least
CZK 49 billion of European Union and state funds into boosting the tourism
industry, the Czech News Agency reported on Monday, quoting a report
obtained from the Supreme Audit Office.

However, in that time tourism has stagnated or even seen a decline, the
audit found.

For its part, the ministry says it cannot be held responsible for the
situation; it argues that tourism’s share of gross domestic product has
been on the decline for a decade, a trend caused by faster GDP growth.

The Supreme Audit Office investigated the manner in which the ministry
fulfills its obligations in the field of tourism and in the provision and
accessing of funds from the National Programme of Support for Tourism, the
Integrated Operational Programme and four regional operational programmes.

The agency also audited the Southeastern, Southwestern, Northeastern and
Central Moravian regional cohesion councils and a dozen selected funding
recipients, including CzechTourism, the state agency tasked with the direct
promotion of tourism.

Ministry of Regional Development, photo: ČT24
Among other findings, the auditors say that the Ministry of Regional
Development lacks sufficient oversight of how much funding has been spent
on tourism, and from which particular sources.

The controllers also say the tourism programme, which had no fewer than
four different heads in the period in question, has been poorly run.

The spokesman for the Supreme Audit Office, Jaroslav Broža, told Czech
Television that the ministry had failed to monitor whether projects were
successful and to what extent they were reaching target groups of potential
tourists (frequently disadvantaged groups, such as students, families with
children, and the elderly). Broža also said that decisions on grant
applications were often highly subjective.

The Ministry of Regional Development says it is continually looking for
ways to achieve improved coordination of its tourism policy and to make its
spending more effective. For this reason, the government in 2013 approved a
new plan that includes mechanisms designed to create a more joined-up
approach, said spokeswoman Burketová.

The travel industry is a significant sector of the Czech economy,
generating around 3 percent of gross domestic product and providing an
estimated quarter of a million or more jobs.